Saturday, June 16, 2012

Arguably the most influential commercially-released techno mix, Jeff Mills' signifying statement of intent is an exilarating listen from start to finish, almost as much for the train wrecking, of which there is a bit, as the tunes. Mills mixes like a man possessed, you can almost feel the sweat dripping and the records being hastily unveiled and then summarily discarded, as each one contributes in no small way to the cut and thrust of this instinctive, intuitive performance. More than most, Mills puts on a show. His timing is otherworldly, his focus intense. . . . and you can feel this with very little effort.

Divided into three "segments" and featuring thirteen of his own tracks, the mix is a veritable mid-nineties techno document, featuring long gone partners in crime such as DJ Skull and Dan Morgan, as well as some who have only increased in importance through time, like Surgeon, Richie Hawtin (as Circuit Breaker) and Derrick May. There's nods to house, as visceral as it's possible to be, as well, with Joe T. Vanelli, Ian Pooley and the Traxmen all featuring. To single out individual moments is futile. Suffice to say that when I bought this mix I'd never seen Jeff play, so it was the first time I'd heard so many of his tunes in the mix, that in itself was special.

He played at Fnac Bastille in Paris to promote it. I was there, late afternoon, along with at least a hundred others. Turntables, mixing desk, everything . . . was set up in the shop and we got a free hour set which remains one of my most memorable record shopping experiences to this day, even if Fnac just sold cds and a token amount of vinyl at the time. He played a set similar to that of the mix, but the biggest cheer was reserved for when he mixed in Thomas Bangalter's 'Trax On DA Rocks'. . . .which was nice.

Saturday, June 09, 2012

It's been a long time since I posted any links to mixes I've been enjoying so I'll use this as an excuse to do just that. I download so many and listen to so few by comparison though. Too much music, too little time . . . and that last comment has just made me realise how long it's been since I finished a book . . . too long. Let's leave it at that.

First up is the last thing I actually listened to and it's the latest installment in Modyfier's illustrious "Process" series. Conceptually infallible, this series started off a long time ago and was launched by Rayna Deniord; here's its manifesto (in case you need a reason to listen to this much good music). I contributed 'Process 191', having been invited by Rayna to do so after being nominated by Nitzan Hermon. Anyway, out with the old . . . it's most recent contribution comes from Kontra-Musik's CEO Ulf Eriksson, and while I'm at it, check out its predecessor by DJ Nobu.

What I've got on on the background as I type this is a recording of the Mixmag all-nighter hosted by Visionquest. You can watch it in its entirety here, or download the set here. Dave Aju's on at around 1:10 if you want a quick track id.

Finally, for those of you who like things to plunge a little bit deeper, two mixes from Jay Daniel, 'Pervasions Vol1' & 'Vol 2' respectively, XDB's 'Chipped Antiquities' podcast from last month, a set from Patrice Scott recorded at the Christina Record shop in the East End last month, another contribution to the Trace A Line series, this time from DJ Qu.

I've always been an avid consumer of DJ mixes; besides listening to promos that's how I tend to consume most of my music. I've always collected them as well, but the commercial mix cd, barring a few exceptions, had its day a while back. This is the first in an occasional series which will recall such releases and the impact that they had on my good self, and I think we're getting off to a good start.

You can see from the comments on its Discogs page that this is a mix which divides opinions. I like it more because it sums up a moment more than anything else. I was living in paris at the time and went with the Missus and a friend Jim, to see Pullen play the Rex on part of the tour to promote the CD. Jim brought some very strong beans over with him. Say no more. It wasn't just because of the life-enhancing help that Pullen was on invincible form that night though. I've seen him a couple of times since and for me he's one of the most technically gifted DJs I've ever seen. That night he was untouchable, mixing up techno and house without thinking, and the results were always perfect - I think I'll remember him playing Johnny Fiasco's 'Kalimba' as long as I live - before taking the plunge with a track from Surgeon's debut album. . . .

. . .and that's basically the spirit in which this mix seems to have been conceived, and from its 'Blade Runner' sampling opening, through to the end, twenty-five tracks later, Pullen gives a masterclass in live techno turntablism. There's an unevenness and lumpiness which seems to suit it perfectly with a who's who of mid-nineties production skills crammed in. Wulf-N-Bear, aka Ralph Lawson and Huggy have dated very well, Sterac closes proceedings before Pullen sticks on a track composed from all of the preceding tracks specfically for the mix, something that was all the rage back then on these K7! comps. He's also present twice as Kosmic Messenger . . . Living in Paris at the time, and spending most of my time around the Rough Trade counter meant I had a soft spot for Daphreephunkateerz, aka Eric Rug. (I hope his dental hygiene has improved because my main memory of him is that he didn't have a full set of gnashers.) As alluded to before, the track selection, and sheer amount of music on this mix is one of the main reasons I was interested . . . I started experimenting around this time with turntablism and quick fit programming, and still dream of completing a mix as big as this perfectly; but it's the rough edges that give this mix its appeal. Smooth it is not, it fluctuates, grates, spins back and occasionally doesn't work. It's lack of polish is charming because that's exactly the opposite of what it was aiming for. You get the impression that Pullen at one point simply said "Fuck it, it's going out like that," and we should all be thankful that he did.

I suppose jazz was my long-term introduction to house, techno and everything else, but hip-hop cemented it. The first hip-hop albums I can remember buying were the debuts of Mantronix and Schooly D. Very innovative and while of their time, in the case of Mantronix at least, ahead of it. Schooly D though, is one of my all-time favourites. That debut, so stark and original, highlighted the rapping over stark, powerful beats, and I've yet to hear a better backing . . .Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions,Run DMC of course, The Beastie Boys, Eric B & Rakim etc . . . were all consumed with veracity. I was also into go-go, so Troublefunk and Chuck Brown also made it into my playlists. I went to loads of gigs at this time, seeing PE's first live appearance at the Hammersmith Odeon, with Eric B & Rakim and LL Cool J, who was headlining. I remember going to Brixton Academy and seeing a Cold Chillin' showcase, with Biz Markie, Cool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane, amongst others. I was at the infamous Electric Ballroom PE gig, were Professor Griff made his equally notorious "white man is the devil" speech, and girls were getting terrible abuse on the way out, and Hursty, who I was with, was on the verge of getting beaten up for refusing to buy a whistle. Boogie Down Productions at The Town and Country Club in Kentish Town was one of the best at that time . . . in total i thin I saw PE around five or six times, EPMD & Stetsasonic around three times each. EPMD were shit live, they just lip-synched, Stetsasonic, on the other hand, really put on a show. They weren't called a hip-hop band for nothing. I saw De La Soul in Brighton, as well as Ice T, after which friends of mine suffered racist attacks from people who had been at the gig! I was n't just watching and listening to hip-hop though, other gigs were being attended as well as other records being bought. Unlike punk, were I never saw all the bands I wanted to, The Clash being the biggest miss, I think I saw just about anyone who was anyone in the hip-hop world between the years of 1987 and 1993, after that I started to lose interest and had already made that shift over to house and techno. While living in Paris I was still going out a lot. I remember seeing Gangstarr at Le Cigale, along with Massive Attack. I also saw one-hit -wonders Arrested Development, and British Acid Jazz and souls stars Galliano and The Brand New Heavies. The best groups I saw over there though were the UK holy trinity of live "rave" performers: The Chemical Brothers, Underworld and Orbital.

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Review/Feedback Policy

No star or grading system. Everything reviewed on this blog has been done so without having first listened to the release. I think this is one way to remain impartial. Feedback will be stated as such and should not be viewed as a full review, just an impression.